Darkest Shadow
by Accidental.Art
Summary: Have you ever seen a demon? Not the boogeyman that hides in the dark, but a creature hated by humanity that shys away from the eyes of God. A creature that feeds on the fears of those around them. What would do you do if I told you I am one of those creatures? What if I told you I just want to be a hero that saves people with a smile? Would you believe me? femIzuku!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

Inko Midoriya was a kind woman. Her best friend Mitsuki would say she was a saint. Inko was married to one Hisashi Midoriya whom she had a beautiful daughter with named Izuka Midoriya.

On the outside the family looked perfect.

Hisashi, the hard working professional sidekick, doted on his wife and daughter dutifully.

Inko, a beautiful and kind woman, kept the house cheerful and alive.

Izuka, a hardworking child with big aspirations, brought just enough chaos as to keep their lives interesting.

It was during a regular doctor's visit that the family dynamic changed.

"She's quirkless." the doctor's flat tone stunned the Midoriya family into silence.

"What do you mean she's quirkless?" Hisashi asked in disbelief.

"As you can see here she has a toe joint in her pinky toe. This has been the sign for many years now that someone does not have a quirk. It is not 100 percent but the chances she has a quirk are very unlikely at this point." The doctor explained ignoring the angry and worried faces of the Midoriya family.

"So that's it?" Hisashi said his anger boiling over as fire started leaking from his mouth in anger. "A single joint in her toe and she's useless?"

"Honey, calm down. There's nothing we can do about it at this point." Inko replied as she floated the toy that her silent daughter dropped.

Hisashi turned his head towards his wife and gave her a withering glare. "Why are you not upset! Our daughter can never amount to anything without a quirk!"

Inko flinched at his glare and looked down at her distraught daughter, "She's still our daughter."

The family left the doctor's office in different states of distress. Poor little Izuka didn't speak the entire trip hope and silently went to her room as soon as they arrived. Hisashi was furious, billows of smoke rushed from his mouth at an alarming speed. Inko watched her husband and daughter in worry.

From there life changed quite a bit for the family. Hisashi became meaner. Izuka's every move was watched like a hawk. He would look at her with eyes filled with hatred and malice. Every mistake made by the girl was a reason to punish her. Every failing grade was a chance to ridicule her. She was nothing more than a scapegoat for all his anger and frustration.

Inko watched it all happen with overwhelming sadness. She started drinking.

Inko tried at first to help her daughter. She tried to defend her, to reassure her baby girl that she wasn't what her father made her out to be, but to fight against Hisashi was to fight a losing battle. Her gentle nature made it hard for her to stand up to him. So she didn't.

She stopped standing up and simply watched. She stood to the side and watched as her beautiful and fiery tempered daughter withered away. She watched as Hisashi grew from being emotionally abusive to physically abusive. She wept as her beautiful family was torn to shreds by a demon she had once loved.

The worst part was that Izuka saw it. She saw the way her mother cowered from her father. The way she held her tongue when Izuka would get beaten or yelled at. She saw her mother for the coward she was.

But she loved her.

She loved him.

They were her parents and she couldn't change that.

She couldn't change the fact that her her father was a demon and mother was a coward.

What did that make her?

What was Izuka Midoriya?

The house became unnaturally quiet.

Izuka was only ever seen outside or in her room. She would often come home with bruises or puffy red eyes, but she never spoke up about it. She knew her father thought she was a disappointment, he had told her as much. To tell him that she was being bullied would only prove him right. She could see that smug look on his face whenever she would cry at night and any thought of telling them was buried deep within herself.

Initially she fought back. She would go blow for blow with the kids who thought she was defenseless because she didn't have a quirk. That stopped after a call was sent to her home. She had broken a boy's nose and he had went crying to the teacher despite punching her in the face mere moments before. She had been the one to get in trouble despite having a black eye.

Nothing would prepare her for the fury on her father's face when she got home. He kicked her, punched her and even burned her skin. He had spared no part of her any mercy. He finished her punishment by holding her small body in the air by her collar and punching a wall. He had been mere inches away from her head.

The message had been clear as he walked away, "Don't fuck up again."

Izuka withdrew even further. She avoided people in her class and only ever talked to her childhood friend and the birds that seemed to flock to her.

Bakugo had become protective over Izuka once he noticed the changes in her demeanor. Before she would respond to each Deku with a fierce rebuttal, but now each time he called her Deku she would flinch.

He stopped after the fourth time.

He knew she was having a hard time being at home, but he was powerless to stop it. She refused to believe that anything was wrong with what was happening to her. He would bring it up and she'd deny it. She'd get angry and tell him to stay out of her business.

He stopped talking about it, but he could tell it was only getting worse. He could tell by the way they never hung out at her home, the way she tried to spend most of her time outside, the bruises and bandages that frequented her pale skin, the days of school missed only to show up covered in bruised, the way she only went home when it was too dark to stay outside anymore.

He hated Hisashi Midoriya.

In an attempt to make things easier for her he prevented anyone from bullying her. It worked at first, nobody bothered her when he was around, but she quickly had to learn how to make herself scarce when he wasn't around.

The only thing that didn't change with Izuka being quirkless was Izuka's love for heroics. It was her dream.

At first, it was because she wanted to be like her father, but after a while the image of her father saving people was replaced with All Might. She saw his smile and the tightness in her chest that strangled her heart every waking moment loosened if just a little bit. His smile made her feel safe. Like there was nothing to worry about. It was heavenly light that lit up the darkness of her world.

She wanted to be wrapped in the light of his smile.

After being told she didn't have a quirk, her father made her take Judo classes.

His words had been harsh, "Maybe learning martial arts will keep you from being entirely useless."

She wanted to cry when she heard those words, but she hid those tears behind a mask of determination. She went to Judo every other day. The dojo had a strict no quirk policy meaning she was on even ground with everyone else.

She quickly learned that fighting was addictive. All the tightly held frustration and anger that she had spent years holding onto would be funneled through her into her fights. Each time she flung someone onto the hard mats of her dojo it was an almost euphoric feeling of power. Each opponent became her father or one of the many bullies that tormented her.

Her violence in matches was seen as competitive spirit by almost everyone and she would be praised for her strength. She was even offered chances to go to matches against other dojos, but she refused. She had no desire to be their trophy dog.

By the time she started middle school, she was a fourth degree black belt. She was always in the upper end of her classes knowing her father would be angry if she wasn't excelling. She had let her grades slip once and even now she remembers that pain.

Inko Midoriya was a horrible mother.

She wanted him to stay.

Even though he was horrible and abusive towards their daughter. Even though he was constantly humiliating her. She wanted him to stay. She was afraid of what would happen if he left them.

She put financial security over the health and safety of her daughter.

The two Midoriyas struggled against the demon that inhabited their home. Inko struggled to prevent it from leaving and Izuka struggled to rise above it, to go against it. It was truly hell for them, but they always held onto the slim hope that his gentle nature would return, that he would walk into their home one day and give Inko a kiss before tell Izuka he was proud of her, but it never happened. It only got worse.

It was two weeks into Izuka's first year of middle school when she got her quirk.

Izuka was in her room studying for a test when she heard a loud crash. She immediately ran out her room towards the sound. She ran into the kitchen to see her father standing over her mother. She was cradling her face in her hand, and her father was staring at his hands in shock and another undistinguishable emotion.

Izuka looked at her mother's face. It was starting to swell and turn red and she could almost feel the throbbing pain as though it were her own pain. She had been at the end of those hands far too many times not to know that pain.

She felt something in her shift. An emotion started to form in her chest. It boiled over into her veins from her heart and made her body burn. Rage. Pure unfiltered rage flooded her mind and body like a tsunami. It threatened to overtake her and she felt it. She felt her eyes sting and before she knew it she was staring into her father's shocked eyes as the screams of a thousand souls filled her mind.

Her skin felt as though it were boiling as she lunged towards her father.

If she had looked at her hands she would have seen ebony claws that glistened in the low light of their tiny kitchen. She would have seen the shadows that flickered in the low lighting converge on her body. She would have seen the monster. She would have finally got her answer.

Who was Izuka Midoriya?

A monster.

The last thing she saw before she was consumed by the darkness was her father holding desperately onto his bleeding side staring into her eyes with terror filled green eyes.

"Izuka!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Izuka woke up to bright lights and white walls. Silently, she attempted to bring her hands to her face in order to lessen the pain the bright room caused in her head. She felt fear claw painfully into her stomach as her attempt ended in failure.

She struggled to shift her head so she could look at her body. Strapped to the bed by thick leather straps that were a tad too tight, she felt fear twist in her stomach like an eel writhing within her making her feel nauseous. She could only barely move her head under the thick leather.

She looked beside herself to see her mother's peaceful face asleep in a chair holding her hand in a tight grip.

She felt an unfamiliar emotion rise in her chest as she stared at the woman. Before she could regain her bearings her attention was pulled away from the tightness in her chest and her mother by the door to the room opening. In came a woman, she was wearing soft lavender scrubs and a long white coat. It was after looking at her face that Izuku recognized the woman as Bakugo's mother.

"You're awake I see." Her voice was softer than she had ever heard from the woman. There wasn't the usual angry and rough tone she used when she was talking to Bakugo.

Izuka nodded or at least tried to but was stopped by the heavy restraints.

Mitsuki grimaced and quickly took the restrains off of the small girl, "I'm sorry about that Izuka-chan. When you got here, you were resisting treatment heavily and we had to restrain you to keep you from hurting yourself. You're quite strong for a girl your size you know."

Izuka slowly sat up not letting go of her mother's hand.

Mitsuki noticed and gave Izuka a sad smile, "Do you remember how you got here?"

Izuka shook her head and frowned, "What happened?"

"Your father hit Inko and you reacted badly." Mitsuki considered telling the small child the extent of the damage. She had been the one to operate, and the man had only barely survived. Even though he survived he was tormented every moment he was awake, "Hisashi wasn't hurt much physically, but his mental state was pretty bad. He was sent to his family in the United States to retrieve care." Mitsuki lied gently sitting on the bed near Izuka's feet. "What all do you remember?"

 _ **Liar.**_ Izuka flinched at the voice that tore throughout her skull. It sounded like her father, but it was chorused by tortured screams. It was loud. Too loud. The screams lingered and its meer presence made her head hurt.

She felt as though the whole world had heard that one word, but Mitsuki only looked at the girl expectantly.

Her head felt as though it was splitting. She shouldn't be hearing that voice. It was not natural. The voice was not meant to be heard by mortal ears yet she heard it.

She cringed as she sorted through her memories, "I remember seeing my mother on the ground and looking at that man before everything going black. How long have I been here?"

Mitsuki nodded and wrote down a note on the clipboard she was carrying, "You've been here for 2 weeks. You were in a small coma after unlocking your quirk."

Izuka looked at Mitsuki in shock, "What quirk? They said I was quirkless when I was 4!"

"You had a dormant quirk that was unlocked by emotional distress. About 5% of people with toe joints have dormant quirks that require strong emotions to be activated." Mitsuki answered in an even tone, "I want to tell you this before your mom wakes up, but you should refrain from making eye contact with anyone."

Izuka looked at her and for the first time realized that the blond never once looked at her face, "W-why?"

"Your quirk… it makes people see bad things." The blond doctor started, "While we were taking you in, three employees looked into your eyes to check your vitals. They were forced to recieve therapy and extensive ptsd prevention courses."

Izuka's eyes widened as she stared at her hands in horror, "Is it permanent?"

Mitsuki cringed looking at her clipboard, "It appears so sweety, but we have something that should help you." She said reaching into her pocket and pulled out a black cloth.

"A blindfold? I won't be able to see!"

Mitsuki gave her a small smile, "It's okay this has a special one way window function that allow you to see past the blindfold as though it wasn't there. No one can see past it, but you can see everything outside of it."

Mitsuki with a small nod from Izuka put the blindfold on the smaller girl and finally looked at the girl's face.

Izuka blinked in surprise as she could still see, but everything was shaded as though she was wearing sunglasses.

"I'll leave you two for now, but I'll back in a few minutes to discuss quirk therapy." Mitsuki said standing up and patting Inko on the back.

It was then that Izuka noticed her mom was awake.

 _ **Coward.**_

As Mitsuki left, a silence fell over the room. Inko dared to look at her daughter and instantly regretted it upon seeing the blindfold over her eyes.

"Izuka" Inko started but was stopped by the girl pulling her mother into her arms.

"I love you mom. I'm glad you are okay." Izuka held onto her mother and let herself soak in the warmth that radiated off the woman like a ray of sunshine shining through the clouds onto her heart.

Her mother was a coward, but she loved her. That would never change.

They stayed wrapped in each other's warmth for a while before, Mitsuki returned with another doctor. He was old and balding. He had a name tag on his white coat that read "Yamato Kuzuku". The two of them walked over to the mother daughter duo.

"Izuka-chan this is Yamato-sensei. He is our resident quirk specialist." Mitsuki said introducing the man, "He's going to run some test with you so we can register your quirk."

Izuka nodded.

"We have a facility here that we want you to test out your abilities in. Your mom can come if that will make you more comfortable." Yamato explained not looking up from his clipboard.

Izuka furrowed her eyebrows before sliding out of the bed. When her mother got up, she had to stop herself from pushing her back into her chair.

The group walked to the elevator and took it to the lowest floor in the building labelled "B2".

Izuka felt her gut twist painfully as they went further down. She wasn't sure if she was prepared for what she was going to do. She didn't even remember how she used it in the first place.

When the elevator stopped she felt her gut wrench and was afraid she was going to puke as she was led to a room labelled "Testing location #357".

"Izuka sweety." She was pulled from her nervous thoughts by the soft voice of Mitsuki. "Your mom and I will be in the room right beside you watching. The doctor will run some test with you and if anything goes wrong we'll be right beside you in a snap." to emphasize her point she snapped her fingers making Izuka giggle.

Izuka felt the twisting pain of her stomach lessen at Mitsuki's silliness, "Okay Auntie!"

After a quick hug from her mother, Izuka found herself sitting in a large room with a few battered dummies, a few targets lining one of the walls and several boxes filled with different materials. She also noticed a wall of cages each one with a different animal.

"First I want to test your transformation." the doctor's voice rang out in the room from speakers that lined the walls. "I want you to try and use the shadows the way you did before."

Izuka wrinkled her brow in confusion.

She stood still as she reached into herself. She searched for the burning feeling that had overpowered her that night. She felt it. The boiling rage that was always mere moments away from spilling over. Slowly, she dipped into that power and felt it burn her as it began to overflow into her body.

It was unstable. It was spilling over the more she dipped into it. Filling her body and mind. Izuka grunted as she looked at her arms. She saw her hands and arms slowly get covered in a black tar like substance. It stopped when it reached her elbow and two black rings appeared on her bicep. The ring closest to her shoulder spiked out in a crown like shape.

Her nails elongated to a point before she felt as though she could go no further. Controlling the power was like sticking her arms into molten tar. It was hot and it was trying to pull her in. It was pushing and pulling at the same time. The way her skin tingle under the substance hurt and she had to grit her teeth to keep her arms covered.

"Good Job Izuka-chan! Now I want you to attack the dummy in front of you."

Izuka nodded and slowly turned towards the dummy. She lifted her clawed arm and with one swift motion the dummy was torn to shreds. She was surprised by how easy it was. Her claws glided through the dummy like butter.

"Now we want to test whether or not you can extend your reach. See if you can make your quirk extend outside of yourself."

Izuka closed her eyes and imagined grasping the tar with her hands and pulling it out. She felt a moment of frustration when it slid between her fingers and refused to leave its vat.

"I can't" she replied after a few tries.

"That's okay. Now we want you to try to use your power without destroying the dummy."

Izuka mentally pulled her arms out of the vat until her claws retracted but her hands were still covered. She clenched her hand and with a grunt of effort punched the dummy. She was surprised when her fist went through the dummy and exited through the other side.

"That was good. Now we want to test your eyes." there was a pause as Izuka felt dread build up in her chest. "We know it works on humans, and we know that whatever the people see it is something that can cause massive emotional trauma. We want to see how your eyes effect different creatures."

Izuka nodded and walked towards the wall of cage.

"Now Izuka take your blindfold off and look into the eyes of each creature."

Izuka felt hesitant. These animals were defenseless. What if one of them died? She didn't want to hurt them.

"It's okay Izuka. All the animals here are assigned to be euthanized today. They are all in a lot of pain already. Nothing you do can make it worse for them."

 _ **Lies. Our power is to suffer. Their suffering will increase.**_

She flinched. She shook her head trying to make the remaining screams dissipate before shakingly taking off her blindfold.

She started with a dog. It was old. She could see by the grey hairs that lined its wrinkled face and the way it laid lazily in its cage.

The moment their eyes locked the dog recoiled and started to whimper.

She felt something wrap around her heart as she locked eyes with a cat. The cat shrank back its hairs standing up.

It tightened painfully as a chimp started screaming in fear. Its screams never stopped after that.

She felt like her heart was going to burst when she made eye contact with a bird. She felt the noose that had begun to wrap around her heart loosen when the bird didn't scream. It simply stared back at her. It tilted its head and fluttered its wings before a sorrowful song filled the room from its beak.

"You can put your blindfold back on Izuka-chan."

She was starting to hate the sound of his voice.

 _ **He's a liar. We hate all liars.**_

"Izuka-chan. This is our last test. We want you to try and lose control." Izuka opened her mouth but was interrupted before she could even begin, "You don't have to worry about hurting anyone. The room was created for test like this."

Izuka looked at her hands. She had since pulled out of her power, but they wanted her to dive into it. They wanted her to allow the rage of her quirk to control her.

Izuka took a deep breath before diving into the molten tar. She felt it surround her and burn her skin. Everything was dark and the pained screams of a thousand souls made her ears burn and bleed. Her head ached as the unnatural darkness gripped her body and mind. She shouldn't be here. She shouldn't be seeing this. She wanted to climb out of it. She wanted to be surrounded in the unnatural light of the training room.

The screams became more sporadic. She could hear their anguish and it made her heart ache. She wanted to help them.

There is no help for the damned.

 _ **Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. We must kill. Only the pure must live.**_

The voice distorted no longer like her father only an angry growl of a thousand tortured souls. It was threatening to take over her.

Izuka tried to swim out, but she was lost. She had let herself float for too long.

Abruptly, she was propelled from the tar. The unnatural blackness that consumed her vision was gone and was replaced by the natural darkness of her mind. Slowly, she opened her eyes and her eyes met the familiar ones of her mother.

She blinked as she realized she was once again in her bed.

Izuka put her hand on her mother's face and gave a small smile. The voices screamed in agony at the touch, but she ignored them.

"Can I still be a hero?" Izuka's voice was so quiet the question almost floated away unheard.

"Izuka, you're already a hero in my eyes." Inko smiled sweetly pulling her daughter into a hug.

 _ **Liar. Coward.**_

Izuka was let out of the hospital the next day with a clean bill of health. While Izuka was in a coma, Inko had gotten a job in a restaurant as a chef. Inko was decently surprised at being able to find a job that would pay for her and Izuka to keep living in their home. Her job even created enough excess for Izuka to continue Judo lessons.

The night the two of them returned home they ate in silence. The two would never be as close as they were before, it was obvious by the way they never spoke to one another. There were moments where the two would make contact, but they were few and far between.

Inko's guilt held her back and Izuka struggled with the voices screaming their disapproval. She had hoped they would disappear, but they only seemed to get worse as time passed.

It was a Saturday when they returned home, so Izuka would be continuing class that Monday. She wasn't really excited to go back, but she felt better when Bakugo, having heard she was discharged, came and helped her catch up on all the work she missed.

The two sat in silence for a while, but it was eventually broken by the blond teen.

"So what's up with the blindfold dork?" Bakugo was sitting on her bed looking through the bookshelf that was next to it.

Izuka flinched from her position at her desk, "I-It's because of my quirk."

Bakugo hummed in acknowledgment before settling on an all might themed fan manga, "My mom told me you got your quirk. What is it?"

"It's a dual quirk from what I can tell. One part is a transformation quirk that makes my skin turn black and I gain these long claws that seem to be really strong. The other part seems to be an emitter type that is used through my eyes. If someone even glances at my uncovered eyes they are momentarily trapped in a horrible vision that seems to leave the person traumatized. The person cannot talk about what they saw either as it seems their speech become incomprehensible when they try to." Izuka seemed to get lose her mumbling till a pillow hit her on the head.

"Shut up nerd I get it!" Bakugo grinned from his spot on her bed.

Izuka pouted but stopped talking nevertheless. She slouched over her work and ignored the chuckle that came from behind her. The two lulled into a silence as they both concentrated on their own task.

After finishing her work, Izuka looked at her blond friend, "Hey Bakago."

"What is it Deku?"

"Let's start training our quirks together soon." She didn't look at the blond, but she could feel his gaze on her back as she stared at the ceiling, the back of the chair painfully digging into her neck.

Bakugo felt a grin slowly split his face, "You're gonna have to try and keep up! I've got years of experience on you and I'm not gonna hold back because you're a girl!"

Izuka felt her the rope that had been tied around her for so long loosen. She wasn't sure if Bakugo knew what he did, but she was glad to have him anyway. She didn't want to be treated like glass. He was treating her the same rough way he always did and that was honestly all she could ask for.

Izuka turned her head and looked into her friend's eyes through the blindfold, "Don't try to act cool when I kick the shit out of you!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Izuka sighed tiredly as her teacher threw all the papers in his hand causing the class to cheer and the people around her to use their quirks.

"Ha! Don't lump me with these losers!" A familiar blond yelled earning several cries of outrage.

The teacher raised an eyebrow looking at his list with students and their project high school. "You're aiming for U.A. Bakugo?" He asked causing several people to gasp in surprise.

"You're aiming for the top school in Japan!"

"But their cut off is super low this year!"

Bakugo smirked as he tilted further in his seat, "Of course! I'm the best and only the best get into U.A! Me and Deku are gonna get in no sweat and be the #1 duo in the world!"

Izuka rolled her eyes as the class went into an uproar, "Stop leaning back you'll fall." she chastised the blond in front of her.

"Izuka is applying too?"

"You can't get into U.A. with smarts alone Izuka!"

"Isn't she blind or something? What hero is blind?"

"Izuka's power seems more like a villain's power than a heroes."

The class was eventually settled down by the teacher starting the lesson for the period. Izuka ignored the lesson having already gone over it beforehand. She looked out the window as a flock of birds flew into the sky. A small crow landed on the closed window and Izuka felt a smile slowly build on her face as it ruffled its feathers at her before flying away.

Izuka shook her head before looking back at her notebook. Her thoughts slowly drifted towards her own thoughts of the future. She thought about the exam in 10 months and considered what she'd do to prepare for it. She was afraid of possibly having to use her quirk on people. It would be better for her if the test involved things like robots.

She worked hard to make her quirk defensive. She could dip both her legs and arms into the tar, and was able to hit harder than anyone. She rarely used the claws as they were too dangerous. They sliced through everything with ease that scared her more often than not.

She hadn't tried to dip fully into the tar as of yet. She never knew what happened when she did last time, but she could always see the fear that appeared in her mother's eyes when she talked about training.

She was brought out of her musing by a tap on her shoulder. She looked over to see Bakugo looking at her with a raised eyebrow. She shook her head and started packing her stuff.

Bakugo furrowed his eyebrows before standing up, "Do you have Judo practice today?"

Izuka nodded standing up as well, "Yeah I'm suppose to be teaching the little kids because I broke my sparring partner's arm yesterday."

Bakugo cringed but otherwise didn't say anything about it, "I have to get back quickly the old hag wants me to do some chores for her."

Izuka nodded, "Tell her I said hi. See you later Bakago."

He grinned as they went their opposite ways, "Later Deku"

Izuka walked while writing in her hero analysis book. She was just barely paying attention until she felt the shadows shift behind her. She stopped and looked back to see green ooze from the manhole.

"Ah this one is blind, but I'm on a time limit here. You'll have to do." The slime's rough voice rung out sending shivers down her spine.

Izuka quickly turned to run away only to be grabbed by her leg and dragged into the slimes body. She tried to pull on the power of her quirk to defend herself, but she couldn't do anything to the liquid body of the slime. She kept her mouth shut tightly as she continued to try and pry herself from the slime. Her fingers and shadows were unable to grab at the slime making her quirk pretty much useless in the situation she found herself in.

Izuka felt her lungs burn as the monster struggled on her mouth. She was about to pass out when a deep voice resonated into the tunnel.

"Fear not! For I am Here!"

She felt a strong hand grip her arm and suddenly with a gust of strong wind the slime surrounding her was gone. She quickly sucked in a large gulp of air and regulated her breathing as the large man started gathering up the bits and pieces of the slime.

Izuka finally caught her bearings and looked at the man who had saved her.

"A-All Might?" She asked as he finally scooped the last of the slime off the walls into a soda bottle.

The looming blond turned towards her with a grin, "Yes it is I! I apologize for getting you involved in my fight with that villian! The sewer systems here are quite confusing, but it's thanks to you that I was able to capture him!" he boomed.

"I-it's okay! U-uh can I get an autograph?" Izuka stuttered holding out her hero analysis book.

"Why of course! Anything for a fan!" He grabbed the book and pen and flicked through the pages till he got to two empty pages and signed both of them.

Izuka smiled as she held her book in her hands, "T-thank you!"

"No problem! I have to go turn this guy into the police so keep supporting me!" He grinned about to jump off.

"W-wait!" Izuka yelled after him, but he had already jumped off.

She sighed as she looked after him longingly. After a second, she shook her head and slapped her face with both hands before grabbing her fallen bag and headed off to her Judo classes.

Upon entering her dojo, she was met with the stern glare of her teacher. She immediately kneeled with her head held down.

"I'm sorry master. I was attacked on my way here by a villain." She said her voice low but sincere.

He softened his gaze seeing the bruises beginning to form on her face, "It is okay young one, but the children have gotten restless since you are late." He turned away from her and walked further into the dojo.

Izuka quickly stood up and followed after him. She stopped by the changing rooms to switch into her gi before heading down the hall once more. After walking by a few doors, he directed her into a room. She sighed as she entered and was met with the sight of ten children sitting in front of a small stage.

"Hello children," her master called out getting their attention, "Sorry for the delay, but your teacher for the day is finally here. Be on your best behaviour for Midoriya-sensei okay?"

The children all yelled out a quick "Hai" before standing and bowing to her.

Izuka silently moved to stand in front of the kids with a soft smile. She may not like kids much, but she would never do anything to disturb their innocent nature by being overly harsh to them.

"Hello class. As you know I am Midoriya-Sensi. I have been training in judo since I was your age and am currently a second-degree black belt." She looked at the looks of awe being sent her way. "Today I will be teaching you how to handle an opponent bigger and stronger than you. Just because you are small doesn't mean you will always be pushed around by the bigger people."

One kid raised his hand, "Are you blind Midoriya-sensei?"

Izuka chuckled, "No I am not. My blindfold is here for your own protection. My eyes are dangerous weapons and I am strictly forbidden from using them."

The children look at her in awe. Izuka smiled softly before clapping, "Let's get started young ones!"

"Yosh!"

Izuka spent the class teaching them with the utmost diligence. She did not baby them the way other teachers would. When they made mistakes she corrected them and made them do their stance over again and again till they got it right. By the end of the class, the kids all considered Midoriya-sensei to be their least favorite teacher.

"Alright class your parents are here to pick you up." She called out to the tired children.

"Hai!" all the kids yelled back.

After all the kids left Midoriya went to an empty classroom and practiced. Her movements felt rigid and stiff. She was angry as she did her katas and it was showing. After working up a sweat, she changed her clothes and went home.

For the next ten months leading up to the U.A. exams Izuka was forced to teach the children who studied at the dojo. She asked why many times, but the grand master would only shake his head. It was the day before the exams that she finally got her answer.

"Alright class your parents are here to pick you up. I won't be with you next class, but I expect you all to advance further and give your all in judo." She called out to the tired children.

"Hai!" all the kids yelled back enthusiastically.

Izuka couldn't help smiling as they all were ushered out the room. Their innocence and childish nature brought out the better in her. She was teaching them, but they were helping her just as much. When she spared with people she would always use it to unleash the anger and frustration she felt, but looking at the faces of the children around her made her anger subside.

Izuka made sure all the kids got to their parents before going to an empty classroom. She stretched and got herself ready before going through her kata in a fast pace. Once she was finished going through them quickly she went through them slowly making sure each move was firm. She didn't feel as rigid or stiff. Her movements felt smoother more powerful.

"Young Midoriya"

She was brought out of her katas by the sound of her master's voice. She turned towards him and kneeled with her head bowed.

"Master"

The old man walked to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "I think it is time you surpassed me in the art of Judo my dear."

Izuka's eyes widened as she looked up at her master, "What changed? Before you said I wasn't ready to leave."

"Young Midoriya, _you_ are what changed. Before you were very angry." He sighed looking at her with sad eyes, "Even now you still hold onto a lingering anger. To surpass me you had to not only be strong but also show emotional maturity. Today with the kids you were at ease and there was a power that started to glow within you."

Izuka felt tears sting her eyes as she looked at her master. She had spent the last 10 years of her life working under him as a student, but in the last few months she had learned the most important thing she ever could.

"Today you learned to let go of that anger and have become more powerful because of it. That anger is still there but it is not as strong. It has been overtaken by your own determination." He grinned, "You no longer fight to win do you? You fight protect."

Izuka felt her tears start to fall as she nodded. "I have fought to be #1 for so long. All that mattered was being the best so that my father was wrong, but I've been fighting for the wrong reasons. I lost to a villian 10 months ago and it hurt my pride more than anything. I'm suppose to be the best at every time. I was saved by All Might and I'm afraid of what would have happened if he didn't show up. How could I be a hero if I don't win?" She paused and took a deep breath.

"Young Midoriya, If you fight to win you will never truly win, but if you fight to protect not only yourself but those around you. Young, old, weak, strong. Then you will always win." She looked up into the eyes of her master. Even through the blindfold it felt as though their eyes were connecting, "That is the most important lesson I'll teach you."

"Master" She was cut off by the older man putting his hand on her shoulder.

"I expect you to grow and learn more of your flaws but for now," her master's smile turned into a grin, "I am proud to present you with this belt." He held out a black belt much like her own, but it was different. She could see red thread tying it together and the kanji for 3 sewn into the fabric. "You have surpassed yourself and are finally a 3rd-degree. There is nothing left for me to teach you."

Izuka tentatively grabbed the belt and to the surprise of the grand master she took her blindfold off keeping her eyes closed and replaced it with her belt.

"By wearing this belt, I will always stand by the teachings of my master and use my power to protect everyone." Izuka declared standing up.

The grandmaster smiled, "Go young Midor- no Izuka, go and become a hero truly worth looking up to."


End file.
